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Brie Bella
| birth_place = Scottsdale, Arizona | death_date = | death_place = | resides = Phoenix, Arizona | billed = Scottsdale, Arizona | trainer = Tom Prichard | debut = September 15, 2007 | retired = 2019 }} Brianna Monique Danielson (née Garcia-Colace) (November 21, 1983) is an American twin model and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with WWE working under the ring name Brie Bella. She is perhaps best known for her time competing as a professional wrestling tag team with her twin sister Nicole (Nikki Bella), collectively referred to as The Bella Twins. Before being promoted to the main WWE roster, The Bella Twins wrestled with Florida Championship Wrestling, where they were trained by Tom Prichard, and mainly competed in tag team competition. Brie made her debut on SmackDown in August 2008; she debuted first, and as part of her in-ring persona, would disappear under the ring during matches, emerging revived. Eventually, however, it was discovered she was switching places with her twin, Nikki, under the ring in order to gain an advantage. They then competed in tag team matches. Beginning in November 2008, an angle was written in which The Bella Twins developed an on-screen relationship with The Colóns (Carlito and Primo) and John Morrison and The Miz. In early 2010 Jerry Springer came to Raw were the superstars and divas (featuring The Bellas) pulled a prank on Jerry. The prank was that Kelly was "Pregnant". During the prank The Bellas came out and they were on about "their own little secret". Brie started to explain to Jerry to then be interrupted by Nikki who shouted "Brie is a man!" Brie seemed completely shocked. As soon as Nikki turned back to face her sister. Brie slapped Nikki across the face as Kelly and Jerry responded with a Big "OOOOO" and then attacked her which caused a brawl to then be broken up by security. They were later involved in a storyline romance with Daniel Bryan. In April 2011, Brie won the WWE Divas Championship. Early career Brianna was born in San Diego, California and raised in Scottsdale, Arizona in a family of Mexican and Italian descent. She played soccer up until college, when they started modeling, acting, and doing promotional work. Brie made he first national TV appearance on the Fox reality show Meet My Folks. Following this appearance, the Garcia twins were hired to be the World Cup Twins for Budweiser and were photographed holding the World Cup trophy. They then participated in the 2006 "International Body Doubles twins search". They participated in the 2006 WWE Diva Search but did not make the cut. World Wrestling Entertainment (2008–2012) Debut and Various Feuds (2008–2010) On the August 29, 2008 episode of SmackDown, Brianna debuted as Brie Bella under a fan favorite character and defeated Victoria. She quickly began a scripted rivalry with Victoria and Victoria's accomplice, Nattie Neidhart, who was now using the ring name Natalya, and had a series of matches against them. In each match Brie would roll out of the ring and go underneath it, emerging and appearing revived, and then win the match. On the October 31 episode of SmackDown when Brie went under the ring Victoria grabbed her legs, but a second pair of legs kicked her off, implying that a second person was under the ring. The following week on SmackDown, Brie picked up a win against Victoria and then ran under the ring to escape Natalya and Victoria, but Victoria and Natalya both reached for Brie under the ring, resulting in both Nicole and Brie being pulled out. The twins then attacked them and celebrated afterward. Nicole was then introduced as Nikki. The twins had their first official match as a team on the November 21 episode of SmackDown, defeating Victoria and Natalya. They continued competing in tag team matches for the next few months. Starting in November, they developed an on-screen relationship with The Colóns (Carlito and Primo), appearing in numerous backstage segments with them, and accompanying them to the ring. On the February 13, 2009 episode of SmackDown, John Morrison and The Miz flirted with The Bellas backstage. As Morrison and The Miz were scheduled to have a match against Carlito and Primo that night, a stipulation was added that the winning team would win a date with The Bellas on Valentine's Day. During their date, Primo and Carlito were disguised as waiters and tried to sabotage the date, resulting in The Bellas getting angry with the two. The date provoked a rivalry between the teams of The Miz and Morrison and Primo and Carlito, with them competing for the affection of The Bella Twins, who were seemingly unable to choose between them. On the March 17 episode of ECW, Carlito and Primo, accidentally spat apples in the face of Brie, which was originally aimed at Morrison and The Miz. Nikki started to laugh at Brie's misfortune, and a fight broke out between the two of them, which led to Nikki turning heel and leaving with The Miz and Morrison, while Brie stayed with Primo and Carlito. Brie won her first match over Nikki in a six-person intergender tag team match on the March 27 episode of SmackDown. In their first singles match, on the March 31 episode of ECW, Brie was defeated by her heel twin sister in a singles match. The Bella Twins were both drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft. On the April 27 episode of Raw, Brie made her Raw in-ring debut in an eight-Diva tag team match, which her team won. Nikki also made an appearance, reuniting with her twin, as she was under the ring to help out Brie during her match. Nikki then made her official in-ring debut on the May 18 episode of Raw in a battle royal but was eliminated by Beth Phoenix. On June 29, 2009, they were both traded to the ECW brand. They debuted on ECW on June 30, 2009 on The Abraham Washington Show, as the special guests. The following Tuesday on ECW Nikki defeated Katie Lea Burchill, by switching places with Brie behind the referee's back. The following week on WWE Superstars Brie also defeated Burchill after a similar switch. The Bella Twins were then featured on September 10 episode of Superstars, when Nikki defeated Burchill. On October 12, 2009, The Bellas were sent back to Raw as part of a tri-branded divas trade, where they predominately appeared in backstage segments with the weekly guest stars and occasionally competed in matches. On the January 4, 2010, episode of Raw, Brie participated in the tournament to determine the new Divas Champion tournament match, but lost to Maryse in the first round. During the match, the twins switched places behind the referee's back so it was Nikki who was pinned. In June 2010, they developed a feud with Jillian Hall, when Brie defeated her after switching with Nikki. The following week, Nikki defeated Jillian after switching with Brie. On the July 8 episode of Superstars, The Bellas acted as the special guest referees during a mixed tag team match with Primo and Hall facing Yoshi Tatsu and Gail Kim. During the match, Jillian attacked both twins, but lost the match when Kim pinned her and Nikki made a fast count. On the next episode of Superstars, the twins defeated Jillian and Maryse in a tag team match. On August 31, The Bella Twins announced they would be part of season three of NXT, mentoring Jamie. Jamie was the first rookie eliminated on the October 5 episode of NXT. On the October 19 episode of NXT, Nikki teased a heel turn after becoming upset after Kelly Kelly's rookie Naomi kicked Brie in the face during the match. Nikki attacked Naomi and eventually threw Brie (the legal woman) out of the ring and pin Naomi. On the November 22 episode of Raw, Brie ran out to accompany Daniel Bryan to his match against Ted DiBiase who had Maryse in his corner. Following Bryan's win, Nikki ran out and the two fought over Bryan's affection only to have Bryan break it up and have both of them hug each other. They began to manage Bryan, frequently accompanying him to the ring. Heel Turn and Divas Champion; Departure (2011–2012) On the January 24 episode of Raw, the twins discovered Bryan kissing Gail Kim backstage. After it was explained to them that Gail was Bryan's girlfriend, The Bellas assaulted her, turning both Brie and her sister heel for the first time in their WWE careers. On January 30 at the Royal Rumble, they once again assaulted Gail Kim, and again the following night on Raw. On the February 7 episode of Raw, they debuted in their first match as heels, teaming with Melina in a losing effort to WWE Divas Champion Eve Torres, Tamina, and Gail Kim. The Bella Twins began feuding with Eve Torres after they appeared as lumberjills during a WWE Divas Championship match between Eve and Natalya on the February 14 episode of Raw. Following the match, they attacked Eve backstage before Gail Kim and Natalya made the save. The following week, The Bella Twins defeated Eve and Gail Kim in a tag team match after using "Twin Magic". On the March 17 episode of WWE Superstars, The Bella Twins teamed up with Melina and Alicia Fox in a losing effort against Tamina, Gail Kim, Natayla, Eve Torres. The following week on the March 31 episode of WWE Superstars, The Bellas and Melina, defeated Eve, Gail, and Natalya after Brie pinned Eve following another "Twin Magic" switch. On the April 11 episode of Raw, the evil Brie defeated Eve to win the WWE Divas Championship from her, marking the first time that either twin had held a championship in the WWE. Brie went on to successfully defend the championship against Kelly Kelly at Over the Limit, after switching places with Nikki again. The following night on Raw, they teamed with fellow heels Maryse and Melina against Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim, and Eve Torres, however, the match ended in a no-contest following an interruption from Kharma. On the May 30 episode of Raw, The Bella Twins were defeated by Kelly Kelly and Eve. Later that night, they interrupted and mocked Kharma when she revealed that she was pregnant and that she was taking a year's leave of absence from the WWE. On the June 6 episode of Raw, The Bella Twins were defeated in a divas tag team match by Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix after Brie was pinned by Phoenix. Their losing streak continued on the June 13 episode of Raw, when they lost a 7 on 7 divas tag team match teaming with Melina, Rosa Mendes, Alicia Fox, Maryse, and Tamina in a losing effort to Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim, Eve Torres, Natalya, AJ, and Kaitlyn. On the June 20 episode of Raw, a special "Power to the People" episode, where Brie would defend her title against either Eve, Kelly Kelly, or Beth Phoenix, Kelly was selected by the WWE Universe as her opponent, who defeated Brie and won the Divas Championship. The following week on Raw, Nikki faced Kelly in a Raw Roulette match. A submission match was picked and Nikki lost after tapping out to a Boston crab. After the match, both of The Bellas attacked Kelly until Eve Torres came to the rescue, throwing both Bellas out of the ring. It was later announced that Brie's rematch for the WWE Divas Championship would take place at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. On July 17, Brie challenged Kelly for the WWE Divas Championship at the Money in the Bank 2011 pay-per-view, but failed to win. On the August 1 episode of Raw, Brie and Nikki both took part in a battle royal to face Kelly Kelly for the Divas Championship at SummerSlam. They both failed to win but were eliminated last simultaneously at the hands of the victorious Beth Phoenix. On the August 29 episode of Raw, The Bellas' losing streak finally ended when Brie Bella defeated Kelly Kelly after switching places with her sister Nikki. On the September 29 episode of WWE Superstars, The Bella Twins defeated Chickbusters (A.J. and Kaitlyn). On the October 27 episode of WWE Superstars Eve and Kelly Kelly defeated The Bella Twins, when Kelly pinned Brie. On the November 29 episode of SmackDown, Brie Bella won a Divas "Mistletoe on a Pole" match. After the match, Mick Foley confronted Brie and told her that she have the opportunity to kiss a Superstar of her choice between now and Christmas. At the 2011 annual Tribute to the Troops, The Bella Twins teamed up with Beth Phoenix and Natalya in a losing effort to Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, Eve & Maria Menounos. They would then enter into a storyline where they pursued Alberto Del Rio. On the January 2 episode of Raw, The Bellas defeated Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres in a tag team match. On January 16 episode of Raw, they were defeated by Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox, since Raw's special guest, Perez Hilton thwarted their attempt at Twin Magic. After the match, Nikki and Brie would go and try to attack Perez but Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox would come to the aid of Perez. The Bella's began to show friction for the second time since joining WWE after both twins had lost to AJ in singles competition. After Brie's match with AJ, Nikki revealed that Brie was rooting for Team Johnny in the 12-man tag team match at WrestleMania XXVIII, whilst Nikki was rooting for Team Teddy. As a result, Brie maintained her villainous persona while Nikki briefly acted as a face. At WrestleMania XXVIII, the evil Brie was in the corner of the victorious Team Johnny to further her dissension from her sister. On the April 6 episode of SmackDown, Nikki Bella (without the assistance of her twin sister Brie), took on the Divas Champion Beth Phoenix. Before the match started, Kelly Kelly came out to distract Phoenix, which then allowed Nikki pick up the win. On the April 23 episode of Raw, Nikki defeated Beth Phoenix in a lumberjill match for the WWE Divas Championship, ending Phoenix's reign as champion at 204 days. Brie lost Nikki's championship to Layla at Extreme Rules, after attempting Twin Magic. The following night on Raw, they competed in their last match with the WWE, failing to win back the Divas Championship from Layla in a triple threat match. Later that night, WWE announced on their website that the twins had been fired by Executive Administrator Eve Torres. This storyline was reportedly used to facilitate the expiration of their contracts, which the twins had decided not to renew. Independent circuit (2012–2013) On May 1, 2012, Nikki and Brie, formerly known as The Bella Twins, appeared at their first independent wrestling show in Newburgh, New York at Northeast Wrestling. Appearing as special guests, Nikki and Brie argued over who was the better man, Luke Robinson or Jerry Lawler, resulting a match between the two. During the match, Luke kissed Brie only to get slapped from both twins, leaving Lawler to roll up for the win. After the match, both Brie and Nikki left the arena with Jerry Lawler. Nicole and Brianna made their debut for CTWE Pro Wrestling] at their Season Beatings pay-per-view on December 15, where Nicole accompanied "Platinum Playboy" J-Busta where he defeated Anthony Greene who was accompanied Brianna. After the match, Brie Bella turned on Anthony Greene and slapped him across the face, followed by a post-match Super Kick from J-Busta. Return to WWE (2013–2014) Total Divas (2013-2014) Brie and Nikki returned to WWE on the March 11, 2013 episode of Raw, in a backstage segment with Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow also confronting Divas Champion Kaitlyn, beginning to associate themselves with the Rhodes Scholars, retaining their heel personas. On the March 15 episode of SmackDown, The Bella Twins attacked The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi) in a backstage segment. On the March 22 episode of SmackDown, The Bella Twins interfered in Rhodes and Sandow's match against Brodus Clay and Tensai, but they were attacked by Cameron and Naomi. The Bella Twins made their in ring return on the March 27 episode of Main Event facing The Funkadactyls following interference from Rhodes and defeating them on Raw. The Bella Twins were scheduled to participate in an eight-person tag team match with Team Rhodes Scholars against Tons of Funk (Brodus and Tensai) and The Funkadactyls at WrestleMania 29, but the match was cancelled due to time restraints. The match instead took place the following night on Raw, with Tons of Funk and The Funkadactyls emerging victorious. They continued to feud with The Funkadactyls, defeating them in standard and six-diva tag team matches. In June 2013, Nikki suffered a fractured tibia. Upon the debut of Total Divas in July 2013, The Bellas began feuding with their co-star on the show, Natalya. Brie and Natalya went on to trade victories in singles competition on Raw and at SummerSlam. The cast of Total Divas then transition into a feud with Divas Champion AJ Lee, who mocked the show and cast. At Night of Champions, Brie unsuccessfully faced AJ for the Divas title in a four-way match including Natalya and Naomi. Following Brie's real-life engagement to Daniel Bryan, their relationship began to be acknowledged on WWE television, which turned both Bellas face in the process. Continuing their feud into October, Brie and AJ faced off at WWE Battleground and Hell in a Cell pay-per-views for the Divas Championship, but Brie was unsuccessful both times. At Survivor Series the following month, the twins were part of the victorious Team Total Divas. The twins failed to win the Divas Championship again at WrestleMania XXX on April 6 in the Divas Invitational match, which was won by AJ. Feuds with Stephanie McMahon and Nikki Bella (2014) Brie became involved in her husband Daniel Bryan's ongoing feud with Stephanie McMahon and Kane after WrestleMania XXX. At Payback, Bryan was given a decision to make to either relinquish the WWE World Heavyweight Championship or Brie would be fired. Brie decided to quit, slapping Stephanie McMahon in her last action as a WWE Diva. On the July 21 edition of Raw, Brie returned as a fan in attendance during her sister's handicap match, and was slapped on the face by Stephanie during a confrontation. Later in the program, Brie had Stephanie arrested for assault. A week later, Brie demanded to be rehired and face Stephanie at SummerSlam in exchange for dropping the assault charges, which Stephanie accepted. At the contract signing on August 4, both Brie and Nikki were attacked by Stephanie, who delivered her husband's Pedigree to both Bellas. On the following week, Brie attacked Daniel Bryan's physical therapist, Megan Miller, after Stephanie had Miller reveal that she had a (kayfabe) affair with Bryan, and later applied the "Yes Lock" to Stephanie. Later in the program, Brie was arrested by Stephanie after Miller filed assault charges. At SummerSlam on August 17, Brie was defeated by Stephanie in a singles match, with the loss coming after Nikki turned heel and attacked Brie during the match. The following evening on Raw, Brie confronted Nikki over her actions, but she was slapped in the face by Nikki, causing Brie to leave in tears. Brie was later forced by Nikki to compete in handicap matches, similar to Nikki's punishment at the hand of Stephanie McMahon; Brie was able to defeat Eva Marie and Cameron on Raw on September 29 and The Slayers (Layla and Summer Rae) on Main Event that same week Brie's feud with Nikki came to a head at Hell In A Cell, where she was defeated by Nikki in a singles match, and was forced to become Nikki's personal assistant. On the final Raw ''before Survivor Series, Brie (dressed as AJ Lee) defeated Nikki and was later attacked by Nikki after the match ended. Team Bella and semi retirement (2014-2016) At Survivor Series, Brie turned villainous when she helped Nikki defeat AJ Lee to capture the Divas Championship, and later reconciled with Nikki. She continued to be at ringside during Nikki's successful title defenses against the AJ Lee and later Paige, which led to a feud between the two teams. It was at WrestleMania 31 that Brie and Nikki were defeated by Lee and Paige in a tag team match. Brie and Nikki became babyfaces due to Naomi's heel turn on April 13, leading to a feud between Nikki and Naomi. At Extreme Rules, Brie assisted Nikki in defeating Naomi to retain the Divas Championship, but on the following night's ''Raw, both Bellas were attacked by Naomi and the returning Tamina Snuka. At Payback, the twins were defeated by Naomi and Tamina in a tag team match, when Naomi pinned Nikki. The following evening on Raw, Brie turned villainous once again, as did Nikki, by employing Twin Magic, which helped Nikki retain the championship against Paige. Brie also got involved in the title match at Money In The Bank, and was attacked by Paige. Alicia Fox later allied with the twins to form Team Bella. After weeks of Team Bella outnumbering Paige, Naomi, and Tamina, Stephanie McMahon called for a "revolution" in the WWE Divas division and introduced the debuting Charlotte and Becky Lynch as Paige's allies. NXT Women's Champion Sasha Banks would debut as an ally to Naomi and Tamina, which led to a brawl between the three teams The three teams would ultimately face off on August 23 at SummerSlam in a three team elimination match, in which Team Bella first eliminated Team B.A.D. when Brie pinned Tamina, before Team PCB's Becky Lynch pinned Brie to win the match for her team. On the September 14 episode of Raw, Nikki defended the Divas Championship against Charlotte, who pinned Brie after the twins had switched places to win the match, however, since the title cannot change hands by disqualification, Nikki retained the championship, and in the process, became the new longest reigning Divas Champion in history, surpassing AJ Lee's previous record of 295 days. After Nikki lost the title to Charlotte at Night of Champions, and failed to regain it at Hell In A Cell, Brie participated in a #1 Contender's Fatal Four Way Match on the November 2 episode of Raw, which was won by Paige. Brie would become the #1 Contender to Charlotte's Divas Championship at Fastlane after she beat Charlotte on the February 1 episode of Raw. Brie would lose to Charlotte at Fastlane, failing to capture the title. In March, Brie was placed in a feud with Lana and went on to distract Brie during her matches and attack her after her matches. Brie then aligned herself with fellow Total Divas cast members Alicia Fox, Natalya, Paige and Eva Marie, while Lana aligned herself with Team B.A.D. (Naomi and Tamina), Summer Rae and Emma, leading to a 10-woman tag team match on the WrestleMania 32 kick-off show, which Team Total Divas would win when Brie submitted Naomi. Three days later, on April 6, Brie confirmed that she would be taking an extended break from in–ring competition, citing family reasons, while also stating that she will continue working for WWE as ambassador. SmackDown Live (2018) Brie returned two years later on August 21, 2018 to face the Miz's wife Maryse. It was announced a Mixed Tag Team match would occur at Hell in a Cell 2018 where Brie and Daniel would face The Miz and Maryse. Retirement In March 2019 on the Bellas reality show Total Bellas Brie announced her retirement from in ring competition. Personal life Brianna and her long-term boyfriend, professional wrestler Bryan Danielson (better known as Daniel Bryan), revealed their engagement in September 2013. The couple married on April 11, 2014. She was previously in a relationship with former Poison guitarist Richie Kotzen. Brianna is an animal and environmental advocate, and has used her appearances on Total Divas to promote awareness of environmental and animal cruelty issues. On October 5, 2016, she and Bryan Danielson announced they are expecting their first child together. Brie gave birth to a baby girl on May 9, 2017, named Birdie Joe Danielson. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **''Bella Buster'' (Sitout facebuster) - 2008–2016 **''Twin Magic'' (Simultaneously switching places on a distracted referee, often followed by a Bella Buster or a small package) **''"Yes!" Lock'' (Omoplata) – 2014–2016; adopted from Daniel Bryan *'Signature moves' **Jumping snapmare **Springboard arm drag **Inside cradle **Low dropkick to a kneeling opponent **Missile dropkick, with theatrics **Modified headscissors armbar **Repeated shoot kicks to a kneeling opponent's chest, sometimes followed by a dropkick to the opponent's head **Running knee to the opponent's head, with theatrics **Single leg Boston crab, sometimes while kneeling on the opponent's back *'Tag teams and stables' **Bella Twins (w/ Nikki Bella) **Team Bella (w/ Nikki Bella & Alicia Fox) *'Notable feuds' **Kelly Kelly **Eve Torres **Kharma **Gail Kim *'Wrestlers managed' **Carlito **Primo **John Morrison **The Miz **Daniel Bryan **Nikki Bella *'Entrance themes' **"Feel My Body" (2008-2009) **"You Can Look (But You Can't Touch)" by Kim Sozzi and Jim Johnston (2009-2014) **"Beautiful Life" by CFO$ (2014–Present) Championships and accomplishments *'Pro Wrestling Illustrated' **PWI ranked her #21 in the 2011 PWI Top 50 Females **PWI ranked her #22 in the 2013 PWI Top 50 Females **PWI ranked her #16 in the 2014 PWI Top 50 Females **PWI ranked her #12 in the 2015 PWI Top 50 Females *'World Wrestling Entertainment' **WWE Divas Championship (1 time) See also *Model (profession) External links * * Profile * Profile Category:American wrestlers Category:Female wrestlers Category:1983 births Category:2007 debuts Category:Florida Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Connecticut Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:Northeast Wrestling alumni Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:WWE Divas Champions Category:California wrestlers Category:WWE Total Divas Category:Models Category:WWE Models Category:Living people Category:2019 retirements